This familiar opening of Charles Dickens' literary classic "A Tale of Two Cities," is still read and studied today nearly 150 years after it was published. With application toward the visual arts in Grand Rapids, such could be said about ArtPrize 2013. There were some examples of the best, mainly at the Exhibition Centers and Showcase venues, and a cornucopia of the worst. According to the last round of art experts to discuss it, the latter accounted for 95 percent of the overall work on display. Although I would not put the percentage quite that high, like almost everyone with whom I have spoken — art enthusiasts and novices in equal measure — the scale tipped decidedly downward this year.

“It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness ... ”

This is the less familiar following line by Dickens and, in large part, where Grand Rapids might find some solace from the recent events, when the cultural world and popular vote parted ways so resoundingly that a besandaled Charlton Heston would be proud and you would swear the Red Sea and Grand River were interchangeable.

The effort of trying to engage the community with the visual arts and energizing the downtown is full of wisdom and benevolence and pride. However, if one were to really examine the comments made, the praise for ArtPrize 2013 rested largely on the impression of seeing so many people downtown, whereas very little was said, especially positive, about the quality of the work and what it was doing for the cultural wellbeing of Grand Rapids.

What of the foolishness? Perhaps it rests with people like me who believe the arts can and should make a difference while instead they are being co-opted for a big street party. Perhaps it rests in the illusion that we are bringing the art enthusiasts and the art innocents closer together, which is erroneous because the former are checking out in droves and the latter go nowhere intellectually or creatively once they check in. The foolishness perhaps exists in the notion that Grand Rapids is in dialogue with the larger cultural world, but the reality is they are setting themselves further apart from truly global conversations because of an insistence on local dialect and terribly outdated modes of expression. Perhaps it rests in the incredible chasm that exists between the amounts of money offered and the absence of quality and validity that devalues West Michigan’s reputation for pragmatics and investing in the future.

Dickens continues: “it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity ... ”

In many ways Grand Rapids is all about belief. In secular terms alone, look at near total transformation of the whole of downtown over the course of just one generation. Belief in self is the can-do attitude, fueled by extraordinary philanthropy that has allowed so much brick and mortar magic has come to pass before our very eyes. The belief is also through the benevolence of philanthropy that new projects, events and exhibitions can make a difference in people’s lives for the better. At some level ArtPrize is about belief.

The incredulity with ArtPrize is how it is seen by both the cultural world and the general public. The former is struggling desperately to find merit in the event other than foot traffic; while the latter are being mislead that most of what they are seeing is relevant and consequential. The only thing worse than fooling ourselves is knowingly trying to fool others. It's like convincing ourselves that a great concert is about to unfold, but rather than Adele or Bono taking stage, it’s a mediocre high school garage band from next door. It's bad enough if we say it’s the best but nearly sinful if we try to convince the unknowing that it is.

What this basically means is that we are facing "A Tale of Two ArtPrizes." If what is desired is a big block party with local flavor then let's enjoy the olive burgers and home brew, and we can judge the best potato salad and Jell-O molds. But let's stop telling ourselves and unsuspecting guests from near and wide it’s a gourmet feast and that the offerings have character and merit in concept and form. Specific to those in the know, they may leave the table courteously, but when they are mislead, they will remember it to others as such. And they are.

“It was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness ... ”

Although dimmed, the Light of ArtPrize is the basic idea for a communal event around the visual arts. For this writer, the light is hope for the future of the event to correct and clarify itself and move not just onward, but upward. Against the constant and increasing call by colleagues and peers from across the cultural landscape to throw in the towel, I just cannot. Not yet. I believe in Grand Rapids and in the forces of ArtPrize to work toward the best and the wise.

But the season of Darkness is here and we have to endure it. The reality on the ground is that the results of ArtPrize this year will make it increasingly difficult to attract the attention of good artists and the media in the future. Don’t let anyone spin it otherwise, but the steepness of difficulty on such tasks has greatly increased from the hilly to the mountainous. But in the darkness, first one needs to ask not just what to do, but what to be. Let's hope the worst, the foolish and the incredulous do not emerge victorious when the light next shines.

Like others, I await the “spring of hope,” but for now it is a “winter of despair.”

Joseph Becherer is Chief Curator and Vice President for Collections and Exhibitions at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture and the Lena Meijer Professor in the History of Art at Aquinas College.